


Date Me a Little

by allmylovesatonce



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-12 12:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5665717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/pseuds/allmylovesatonce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Mindy breaks off her engagement with Casey, she eases herself back into dating by going on fake dates with Danny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Modest Proposal

Breakups are the worst. They notoriously brought out the worst in Mindy. Her breakup with Casey had already led her to new levels of low as far as breakups went and it had only been a matter of days. Still, she couldn’t deny that Morgan’s weird little lawsuit date had made her feel at least a bit better. It had been kinda cathartic to yell her feelings out at the quarry. Maybe Morgan was on to something.

She took the last swig out of her wine glass and walked over to the kitchen. She stood in front of the bottle of wine and debated her options. Her date with Morgan had ended earlier than a normal date would have. So she still had plenty of time to drown her sorrows. Or she could put her glass in the sink and decide not to be a pathetic drunk for the night. She was still weighing her options when she heard a knock at the door.

Not expecting anyone, she cautiously opened the door. Peeking around, she saw Danny standing in her doorway. She stepped back and pulled the door open. “Danny? What are you doing here?” Mindy inquired.

Danny shrugged. “Eh, I thought I’d stop by and see how your date with Morgan went,” he answered.

Mindy smiled. She decided to mess with him a bit. “Pretty good actually. He’s, um, actually taking a shower…”

Danny stared at her with a horrified look on his face. “Because he fell in some mud and needed to clean up, right?”

Mindy laughed and then dramatically stopped laughing. She shook her head determinedly. “Not exactly,” she replied in a suggestive tone.

Danny looked like he was going to be sick. “Okay, uh, well I’m just gonna go,” he said softly as he turned around to leave.

Mindy grabbed his arm to stop him. “Danny, I’m just kidding!” He looked relieved. She couldn’t resist playing with him just a bit more. “He’s actually lying naked in my bed. We haven’t started yet. I bet he’d be interested if you wanted to join us…” Danny’s face was priceless. Holding in her laughter was the hardest thing she’d probably ever done. “Okay, Danny, you can relax. I was completely kidding. It’s just me here.”

Danny shook his head with a still disturbed expression. “I just don’t get why you’d even joke about that…”

Mindy laughed. “Yeah, well if you saw the look on your face right now, I think you’d understand.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Ha ha, good one.”

There was an almost awkward pause between them. Mindy stepped back from her door and motioned for him to come in. “Wanna come in? I have pie…”

“That’s okay, I don’t really need pie,” Danny replied.

“So you just came by to awkwardly stand outside my door? For the love of God, just come in and eat some pie with me! You can be like one of my girlfriends while I go on about my crappy date. It’ll be great! You’ll love it,” Mindy urged, nearly dragging him in by his arm.

He followed her in, closing the door behind him. “Great, that sounds like so much fun,” he answered sarcastically.

She sliced both of them a hefty slice of pie. Danny groaned as he took a bite. “Mmm, this is good. Did you make this?” He asked, motioning to the pie.

Mindy chuckled. “Aww, that’s sweet that you think _I_ know how to make pie, Danny.”

He looked at her skeptically. “It’s really not hard to do. I think even _you_ could master it.”

“Even _I_ could do it?” Mindy replied with an outraged tone. “How dare you?”

Danny held his hands up in surrender. “I did not intend to walk into this conversational minefield. I feel you led me into it on purpose. I’m just going to back away with my head down and my hands raised. It’s good pie. Let’s pretend that’s all I said.”

Mindy smirked at Danny as she poured herself another glass of wine. A thought dawned on her. “I can’t believe you actually think I’d sleep with Morgan.”

“Well I never thought there would be a day when Morgan would sue us because you _tried_ to have sex with him. Sorry for thinking that maybe you changed your mind and decided to go for it.”

Mindy reached out and slapped Danny lightly on the arm. “I was like two to three bottles in when I tried to have sex with him. I clearly could not be held accountable for my actions!”

“Yeah, well for all I knew, you could have been two to three bottles in tonight too. Who knows?” Danny countered.

Mindy puffed out her chest proudly as she held up her bottle of wine. “Nope. Only half a bottle in,” she laughed to herself.

Danny’s face suddenly turned serious. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking. “So how are you doing?” he asked hesitantly.

She took a deep breath. “I guess I’m okay. It’s weird though. A week ago I thought I was getting married and now…” she explained, trailing off.

Danny laid his hand delicately on hers. She looked up at him. “It’s okay if you’re not okay yet, Mindy,” he said kindly. “Breakups suck. That’s a known fact. They especially suck when it’s from someone you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with.”

Mindy nodded her head knowingly. “You know what the worst part is right now?” Danny shook his head. “I thought I was done with dating. I had honestly convinced myself that I was never going to have to go on another awkward first date. But I was wrong. Dating is the worst.” Mindy paused and contemplated. “I guess there are some good parts of dating. Like meeting new people, when they aren’t creeps. Or when you’re sitting at dinner and he smiles at you and you sit there wondering, “Does he really like me?” Although the alternative of that is “Or does he just want to get in my pants?” The best part of dating would be having someone pay for everything, though. Somehow that’s always my favorite part.”

Danny looked at her skeptically. “That’s the worst part about dating. Besides, you’re a rich Manhattan doctor…shouldn’t you not have to worry about money?”

“Sure for a guy who is expected to pay for everything, of course that’s the worst part. And it’s not that I have to worry about money. Sometimes it’s just nice to feel pampered by someone else.” Mindy took a drink of wine. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be the only one pampering myself for a while. Dating is just…I don’t know. I just don’t feel ready for it. I wish there was a way to have all the fun parts of dating without actually dating. You know?”

Danny shook his head at her humoredly. “You’re crazy.”

Mindy shrugged and took another sip of wine.

~~

Mindy heard the knock at her door and looked up to see Danny strolling into her office. He sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “So I was thinking about what you said last night,” he started.

“Danny, I don’t care how desperate for human interaction you are, I’m not letting you teach me how to make a pie. I have better things to do with my time,” Mindy replied without looking up from her paperwork.

“What?” Danny asked, shaking his head. “No, that’s not where I was going with that. Though, for the record, it’s really easy and I think you’d find it rewarding to make something yourself.” She shook her head amusedly at her paperwork. “Anyway,” Danny continued, trying to get himself back on track, “The thing you said about dating without dating. I think I have a solution for you.” He paused. “ _We_ could just go on a date.”


	2. Too Good to Refuse

Mindy stared at Danny like he had two heads. “Wait, you wanna do what?” She asked incredulously.

“I mean it would obviously be a fake date. You know, it wouldn’t be real or whatever. I just thought it would help you,” Danny explained quickly.

“So you want to take me out on some date to make me feel better after my breakup?” Mindy interrogated. Danny nodded. “So what would you get out of it?”

Danny looked thoughtful for a second. “I don’t know, the knowledge that I comforted my friend in a time of need?”

Mindy burst out laughing. “That’s ridiculous, Danny!”

Danny shrugged. “Whatever, I was just offering,” he replied dejectedly, looking away.

Mindy sighed. “It does sound fun though…”

Danny looked back at her. “So is that a yes?”

“It’s a “Eh, why not?” So what are we gonna do on this date?” Mindy asked.

Danny jumped up with a smirk. “Not sure yet. I didn’t know if you’d actually agree.”

He turned to head back to his office when Mindy stopped him. “Wait, so what should I wear?”

“Whatever you want,” Danny replied with a shrug before leaving.

“Men are no help,” Mindy sighed. She couldn’t fight the smile that was creeping across her face. She was eagerly anticipating this “fake date.”

~~

Dressing for an unknown occasion was really hard. Mindy tried on several different outfits. She either looked too dressy or not dressy enough. She couldn’t decide how to do her makeup. She either looked completely natural or like she was in a pageant. She couldn’t find the middle ground on anything and it was freaking her out. It was a fake date. Shouldn’t that mean that she shouldn’t care as much?

She heard a knock at the door and slowly went to open it. Danny’s face when he saw her made her happy with her decisions.

“Mindy, you look great,” Danny said, seemingly in awe.

“Thank you,” she replied with a bright smile. “You…are wearing what you wore to work.”

Danny shrugged. “So you’re ready?” She nodded and followed him out the door.

He took her to a fancy restaurant. One she loved, and therefore knew how expensive everything was. She wondered what made him make the choice. She was about to ask when the hostess led them to their table.

“So tell me a bit about yourself…” Danny said after they’d sat down.

Mindy looked back up over her menu with a confused expression. “What?”

“You know? How long have you lived in New York City?” Danny asked.

Mindy looked at him blankly. “Are you serious right now?”

Danny just continued, “See, I’ve lived here my whole life…”

She shook her head at him bemusedly. “You’re an idiot.” He just laughed. “I moved here when I went to medical school.”

“Wait, you’re a doctor? So am I.”

Mindy was laughing. “Yeah, I’m an OBGYN.”

“Whoa. This is spooky. Me too!” Danny exclaimed.

Mindy couldn’t do it anymore. “You do realize how stupid this is right?”

Danny feigned innocence. “What? It’s a first date. Would a normal first date know everything about you already?”

Mindy looked at him skeptically. “Oh, so you think you already know everything about me, huh?”

“Well, I’d say what you haven’t already shared with me, I’ve probably heard you share with someone else. Your voice tends to carry. And cut through walls…” Danny countered.

Mindy was about to fire off her pithy retort when the waitress came to the table. Danny quickly ordered a bottle of nice red wine and sent her away again. “So fake dates get bottles of wine?”

Danny was looking at the menu and not at Mindy. “What’s the saying? When in Rome…”

Mindy sensed that Danny was being evasive so she decided to drop it. She was already having a good time, she didn’t want to make it awkward between them. She decided to let it go.

After they’d placed their orders, Mindy finally decided to say what had been on her mind since he’d left her office. “You know, when you asked me to come out with you, I was a bit intrigued. I’ve always been curious of what a date with Danny Castellano would be like.” Danny laughed. “I mean I’ve been on a double date with you, but that was just the weirdest night ever.”

“Damn, that _was_ a weird night,” Danny agreed. “I’ve never had someone profess their love for someone else minutes after making out with me. I honestly didn’t know what to make of that.”

Mindy burst out laughing. She remembered how awkward her side of that night had been too. “I guess that was my bad. I was the one who forced you to tag along with us.”

“Oh good, I’m glad that’s how you remember it too. In my mind it is definitely your fault as well,” Danny added with a laugh.

“Hey! At least you didn’t get to the most romantic place in the world only for your boyfriend to announce to the crowd behind you that he’s in love with another woman. I’m the only one who witnessed your shame. Easily a hundred peopled witnessed mine,” Mindy argued.

Danny raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, fair point.”

“It was so stupid. Under normal circumstances, I’d call having a nice dinner and being taken to the Empire State Building the perfect date.”

“Really?” Danny asked.

“Yeah. It’s romantic and sweet. We’d go up there and then he’d kiss me with all of New York watching.”

Danny eyed her skeptically. “All of New York is watching you two kiss?”

“Oh you know what I mean.”

Danny nodded. “The tickets _plus_ dinner just so he can kiss you? Sounds expensive.”

Mindy shook her head. “Aww, Danny you’re such a romantic,” she said sarcastically.

 ~~

Mindy had been surprised by how enjoyable her “date” with Danny was. It’s not that she didn’t usually enjoy their time together, it’s just that she’d been a bit skeptical. As they walked back to her apartment, she looked over at him and realized that a year before, this never would have happened. Their relationship had changed significantly in a fairly short amount of time. She was happy that all her efforts to win him over as a friend had paid off. She was certainly grateful to have a friend who would try to take her mind off her breakup.

They had reached her door when Mindy turned to Danny. “Thanks for tonight. It was really fun.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Mindy took a deep breath. “I mean it. Honestly, tonight was the longest I’ve gone without thinking about Casey since we broke up. It was nice.”

“Well I’m happy to help,” Danny answered. He got a dopey look on his face. “We’ll have to do it again sometime,” he said, adopting the first date persona again. Mindy laughed at him. “I guess I’ll see you around,” he said, not dropping the act.

“You mean tomorrow at work?” She asked plainly.

“You’re no fun,” Danny sighed.

He started to turn for the elevator when Mindy stopped him. She wrapped him in a hug. She felt him slowly wrap his arms around her to hug her back. As they were separating, she kissed him on the cheek. Smiling, she said, “Thanks again, Danny.”

He smiled and reached out to pat her arm. “No problem.”

She watched as he turned around and left. She was left with a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach that she knew deep down had nothing to do with the wine she’d consumed. Tonight had made her look at Danny in a new light. She could feel a change in the air. Even if nothing had actually happened, she could tell that her relationship with Danny was changing.  


	3. Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again

“Danny, great news!” Mindy exclaimed as she strolled into Danny’s office.

Danny looked up at her. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Mindy plopped down in the seat in front of his desk and leaned forward excitedly. “I have two tickets to…Mamma Mia! And guess who’s my plus one?”

Danny looked at her cautiously. “Oh God. Is it me?”

Mindy slapped a ticket down on his desk. “You bet your butt it’s you! Can you feel your luck changing?”

“Gee, whatever have I done to deserve this?” Danny replied sarcastically. “Seriously though, why me?”

Mindy sat back in her chair. “Because who else am I going to take, Danny? Isn’t that the whole point of your “fake date” idea? I have no one. No one except you.”

Danny leaned back in his chair and looked at her uncertainly. “Well that’s certainly the way to a man’s heart. Saying you’re only interested in spending time with me by default.”

Mindy sighed and leaned forward again. “Okay, there’s also the fact that we’re friends and we have a good time together and I really want to go see this play and you were the first person I thought of to go with me.”

Danny sighed too. “Fine. How’d you come into these tickets anyway?”

Mindy laughed nervously. “It’s kind of a funny story. I was talking to one of the nurses and she said she had tickets for her and her husband to see Mamma Mia tonight but she forgot that it was the same night as their kid’s school play so they couldn’t go. I got excited and asked what time it was and she thought I meant her kid’s play. It got really awkward and I ended up paying way more than ticket price for them because I felt so weird. So I’m gonna let you cover dinner beforehand.”

Danny shook his head. “Wait, so because you’re bad at making conversation with our employees, I have to pay for dinner for you and go to some lame show?”

“ _Lame_ show? You think Mamma Mia is lame?” Mindy exclaimed. “Well you’ll see tonight how _not_ lame this show is. I thought you were a huge fan of ABBA. Wasn’t their music really popular when you were in high school?” Mindy asked with a taunting grin.

“Ha, ha. An age joke. You really know how to get me on board with your plans,” Danny replied.

“Okay fine, I take back the age joke. But come on, you at least know their music. If I do, then you have to!”

Danny eyed her skeptically. “That still feels like an age jab.”

“Whatever. You’ll have a great time. Just open your mind. Expand your horizons. And be ready to leave after work,” Mindy added as she stood up to leave. She wandered out of his office and turned back to add something else. She could hear him humming at his desk as she walked back in. “Are you humming “Take a Chance on Me” Danny? I _knew_ you liked ABBA! Ha!”

Danny got a guilty expression on his face. “What? No, I was just – I um, whatever. Maybe I know the chorus. That’s it,” he insisted.

Mindy nodded humoredly. “Mhmm, sure, Danny.”

“Ugh, what do you want now?” Danny asked.

“Chinese for dinner. That work?” Mindy replied.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Danny agreed.

“Great!” Mindy cheered. She turned to leave and waited in his doorway. “Are you going to listen to their albums while you do paperwork to pump yourself up for the show?” She asked teasingly.

Danny sighed, looking back at her. “Please leave.”

“Yeah, okay.” As Mindy walked back to her office, she couldn’t shake the grin off her face. She was excited about tonight. She couldn’t wait to be finished with work. It was nice to actually have plans

~~

After their first two fake dates, it became a thing. Anytime Mindy wanted to go to something that she’d feel weird going to alone, she made Danny join her. He did the same. They spent so much time together, that sometimes she forgot they weren’t actually dating.

She was happy with the progress she was making with Danny though. On a couple occasions, she’d gotten him to talk to her about things he normally wouldn’t ever talk about. Like his divorce or his childhood. She’d been happy to have a confidant that wasn’t Morgan.

The funny part was that after a few weeks, they stopped coming up with reasons to hang out and they just spent time together. They would get food and go to one of their homes. Or they’d have a late night paperwork session and hang out at the office getting work done. They’d somehow reached a level of friendship that Mindy had really only reached with a few people, all of whom were girls. Though, she couldn’t deny that spending that much time with him had been confusing at times. But every time he would stop by her office to make plans, she was happy at the prospect of getting to spend more time with him.

~~

It had been a few months since her break up when the ad in the paper popped up. She couldn’t resist messing with Danny a bit, even if she knew he’d be touchy. She knocked on his door and strolled in confidently.

“Hey so I have a great plan for another fake date tonight,” Mindy cheered.

Danny glanced up at her. “Great, tonight would be a great night for one. What are you thinking?”

“So I have this friend who is having an art opening where she’s displaying her ex-husband’s nudes. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” She asked with a sly grin.

Danny dropped his head to his desk. “Please no, Mindy.” He picked his head up and looked at her miserably. “And here I thought that you would be the one to have my back in all this…”

Mindy sat down in front of his desk. “I do have your back. That’s why I’m making you go to Weiner Night. I think it would be better if you faced Christina and showed her that you didn’t care. All she’s trying to do is get a rise out of you,” Mindy insisted. “And maybe make some money off your hot body, I don’t know.”

Danny looked like he was actually contemplating what she said. “Fine,” he agreed. After a pause, he added. “Do you think they serve alcohol at these types of things?”

Mindy stood up and shrugged. “How should I know? Do I look like I go to art openings all the time?”

As she was leaving, Danny yelled after her, “Just so you know, I’m still going forward with my campaign to get this shut down!”

Mindy laughed. “I wouldn’t expect any less, Danny.” With a wink she added, “I’ll see you tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the nice comments! I appreciate the support to continue writing! :)


	4. Wiener Night, Take Two

“I can’t do this,” Danny gasped, sweating through most of his layers of clothes.

Mindy stopped him in the street and grabbed his shoulders. “Listen Danny, you _can_ do this. You’re just gonna go in there and show Christina that this means nothing to you.” Danny looked at her with an unsure expression. “We’re doctors, we can handle a little nudity. It’s gonna be no big deal.” She paused and looked him up and down. “That was not a comment about anything in particular,” she added, gesturing to his body.

“Oh my God,” Danny groaned, looking disgusted.

“Sorry! Let’s just go inside,” Mindy urged, looping her arm through Danny’s. She stopped right in the doorway to the gallery. “Oh wow, I’ve never been the date of a model before. This is kinda exciting…”

Danny shook his arm away from her. “You’re the worst,” he muttered, stalking inside.

She followed him in and froze. She hadn’t really prepared herself for seeing all of Danny’s body plastered on massive pictures as tall as the walls. She took a deep breath and blew it out. Somehow she knew that the nights she spent hanging out with him would be tainted by seeing his naked body out of context.

He walked up to her and handed her a glass of champagne. “Just say it.”

She shook her head and nervously took a sip of champagne. She couldn’t stop staring at the picture in front of her. “I have no words.”

“Really? You?” Danny asked incredulously.

“I just don’t know how to articulate everything that’s going through my head right now.” She paused. “I mean, I can see every hair follicle!”

“Oh God. This is awful,” Danny groaned.

Mindy turned away from the picture, dragging Danny with her. He looked at her and shook his head. She couldn’t help but look around and notice how many people were there. Especially people they knew. One person was suspiciously absent. She would have thought the “artist” in question would have made an appearance.

“Oh God, I need a drink,” Danny suddenly exclaimed.

Mindy looked at him confusedly. “You already have a glass of champagne,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I need something stronger,” Danny bemoaned.

Mindy shook her head amusedly as she felt someone clap her on the shoulder. She noticed Danny get a noticeably angrier look on his face before she turned around. Of course it was Brendan.

“Ahh, Danny and Mindy. How lovely to see you both. More of you than I ever expected to see, Danny, but still lovely,” Brendan greeted.

“Okay, that’s really weird. You can keep walking Brendan,” Mindy jumped in, literally pushing him away from them.

“Yeah, I’m gonna leave now. I can’t take this,” Danny said.

“No, Danny!” Mindy insisted. “Christina hasn’t seen you yet. If you leave and she shows up, she’s gonna think that you wussed out. And you’re more man than that!”

Danny appeared to be almost convinced when Morgan walked by. “Hey Dr. C, your wiener is fantastic!” Danny looked exasperated and a bit helpless.

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” he said plainly.

Mindy nodded. “Good plan.”

She wandered around looking at the different pictures. As much as she was trying to be Danny’s emotional support, she also was intrigued. She couldn’t lie and say she’d never wondered what was going on with him. She never really thought she’d get to find out in this way though. She was standing by a picture of Danny with a bat when Peter walked up next to her.

“Damn, right?” He asked, nudging her.

“What?” Mindy asked, looking to see if he was serious.

“Can I ask you a question, Mindy?” He continued before she could answer. “How long have you and Danny been sleeping together?”

Mindy turned to face him. “What?! Danny and I aren’t sleeping together!” She responded fairly loudly and quite high pitched.

“Seriously? Could have fooled me. You guys spend like _all_ of your time together,” Peter explained.

Mindy shrugged. “Yeah, we’re friends.”

“Oh right, _friends_ ,” Peter repeated, putting quotes around friends.

“What? We are!” Mindy defended.

“Fine. So you’re saying you’ve never hit that?” Peter interrogated, gesturing to the picture.

Mindy looked back at it. She swallowed quickly. “No.”

“Really? You guys are _that_ close and you’ve never done anything?” Peter continued, not letting it go.

“No. We really haven’t. Is that so shocking?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied, “So you’re saying you’ve never even thought about tapping that?” he asked, pointing to the picture again.

“No I haven’t,” Mindy insisted. Though right now that felt like a lie. She didn’t really feel like admitting that to Peter though. Especially not when he was holding her relationship with Danny under the spotlight.

“Really? You’ve never even thought about tapping that? Are you gay?” Peter questioned.

“Are _you_? You seem pretty interested in Danny’s body,” Mindy countered.

“What?” Peter sputtered with a fake laugh. “I’m not gay. Guys can appreciate other guys’ bodies.” He got a strange look on his face for a moment before he shook his head and focused back on Mindy. “It’s just weird to me that you and Danny have never done anything. For two people who spend as much time together, you’d think you would have at least tried something by now.”

Mindy shrugged. “Well we haven’t.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“I don’t really know what that means. But no.”

“You’ve never even kissed?” Peter asked, not taking no for an answer.

“No,” Mindy replied exasperatedly, growing tired of this conversation.

“Not even almost?”

She started to roll her eyes when a memory flashed in her brain. It was months ago and they were sitting in the hospital lounge. She had a gross haircut and was about to leave for Haiti. There had definitely been a moment. There was tension between them and not the general tension as usual. There was something else there. He’d grabbed her glasses off her face and pretended to clean them. Then he lingered. She could have sworn in hindsight that he was going to kiss her. Hell, even in the moment she’d thought he was gonna kiss her. That’s why she’d nervously blabbed about Casey and her getting back together. She had been afraid of what a kiss from Danny would mean. Or rather what it would mean to her.

She’d all but forgotten about that almost kiss. If she hadn’t said anything, would he have actually kissed her? There had definitely been a moment. They never discussed it when she got back from Haiti. They never discussed it even after she broke up with Casey. He let it lay just as forgotten as she did. Did Danny have feelings for her?

She realized Peter was watching her. She shook her head quickly, both to clear it of her thoughts and to negate his claims. “Nope. Never even almost,” she lied.

Peter nodded his head, but he looked disbelieving. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what that long pause was for. Because _nothing_ had ever happened.” He shook his head at her as he walked away. Once he left her, she couldn’t help but stand there and wonder if there was something between them.

She felt someone come up behind her. She jumped when she turned and saw Danny. “I can’t believe people are buying this.”

Mindy gasped. “It’s for sale?”

Danny looked at her curiously. “I didn’t mean like that. Wha – would you buy something?”

“What? No!” Mindy nearly yelled. “That would be so weird.” Weird and yet also tempting, she thought to herself. She decided to focus back on Danny. “How are you doing?”

“You know what? I’m good,” Danny replied.

“Completely drunk?”

“Almost. I’ve had like three glasses of champagne and a few beers,” Danny listed nonchalantly.

Mindy gaped at him. “Oh my God, man. It’s been like an hour.”

“Only an hour?” Danny asked, his voice wavering a bit. “Cool. An hour of people looking at my naked body against my will. Fun. It’s not like a living nightmare at all!” Danny added before taking another swig of beer.

“Do you want to just leave?” Mindy asked, stepping closer to him.

He looked at her seriously. She could see the glassiness of his eyes from all he had to drink. He was really contemplating what she’d asked. She wished he would think faster because she was starting to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, especially given recent epiphanies.

“No. You were right before. I want her to see that I don’t care,” he finally said. “But thanks for the support,” he added, leaning in for a hug.

Mindy backed away quickly. He looked at her curiously. “I’m sorry. I can’t right now,” she explained, gesturing to the room.

He rolled his eyes as the lights dimmed in the gallery. From there everything was a blur. There was the video of Christina where she made Danny out to be this awful person. Then Mindy was trying to defend Danny but then he was stepped forward and started taking off his pants. And then the cops walked it and it all went to hell. After the cops decided to leave without arresting Danny, he drunkenly stormed off. Mindy was about to follow him when Peter grabbed her aside.

“I did you a solid,” he said.

She was trying to figure out where Danny had run off to. “Oh really? How so?” she asked while scanning the room for Danny.

“So I bought you a picture of Danny.”

Mindy whipped her head back to look at Peter. “You did what, now?”

“Yeah, these can be bought. And so I bought you one. I figure since you aren’t harboring an all-consuming love for him, then what’s the harm?” Peter explained.

“Peter, that is disgusting!” Mindy exclaimed.

“Yeah, sure. Wink, wink,” he replied. “Maybe you’ll change your mind in a few weeks when it arrives at your apartment.” He winked at her and wandered off to talk to Morgan. Mindy cringed a little.

She gave up hope of finding Danny in the gallery and grabbed her coat to leave. She walked out and found him sitting on the sidewalk. “Hey Danny, I didn’t recognize you with all your clothes on,” she teased as she sat down beside him.

“Seriously? That’s insensitive,” he whined. He ran a hand down his face and groaned. “Tonight was the worst.”

“Okay, yeah, but also people looked at your hot body all night and they called it art. I’m sure no one would say that about me,” Mindy replied, attempting to be comforting. She looked over to see Danny looking her body up and down. “Hey, don’t,” she said, shielding her cleavage.

He looked away. “What? You looked at my naked body all night,” he argued.

“Yeah, but you were the one stupid enough to pose nude for a known spiteful woman,” she countered. She could hear heels clacking behind her before she heard a woman’s voice speaking.

“You’re Danny right? From the pictures?”

Neither of them looked at her. “Yeah, he’s had a hard night,” Mindy replied without turning around.

“I thought they were great,” she nearly crooned.

Danny looked over at Mindy curiously, before turning to look at the other woman. Mindy looked at her too. She could see the seductive eyes this tall, skinny woman was flashing at Danny. Mindy instantly hated her. She could feel the heat of jealousy coursing through her body before she could even ask herself why she felt jealous. She looked over at Danny. She could see the wheels turning in his head. This woman was obviously a slam-dunk. It really irked Mindy that he seemed to be considering it. Even if she had no reason to be irked. It’s not like anything had ever happened between them.

Danny glanced back at Mindy quickly before looking back at the woman. “I’m flattered, but I have to say no.”

She stammered some sort of apology and looked confused as she walked away. Mindy stared at Danny in awe. He’d just turned down a surefire lay. What the hell was going through his head? Any normal man would have gone home with her, emotional support friend be damned.

He looked at Mindy. “How about we go get a drink? It’s been a long night.”

“You’re right. It has. But I don’t think you should have anything else to drink. You already reek. How about instead, we just get you home?” Mindy asked, standing up and helping him do the same.

Danny nodded, wrapping his arm around her for support. “Hey, thanks, Min.”

“For what?”

“For being here tonight. I wouldn’t have gotten through this humiliation without you,” he answered.

She smiled to herself and wrapped her arm around his waist. “Well frankly, I’m surprised you survived at all, given how much you had to drink. But you’re welcome.” She looked over at him and noticed he was watching her. “What are friends for?”

She hated using that phrase. Even if they were just friends, she felt like there should be a different word for them. And given the things she realized tonight, she didn’t want to use the word “friends” anymore. She wanted to know what other words could describe them. Given the way Danny’s face fell as she said it, she couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way? Was that why he didn’t go home with the art floozy? It wasn’t the first time she’d had to consider whether Danny had feelings for her. She was hesitant to open that can of worms this time, though. This time they were both single. This time she wanted it to be true. This time they could actually do something about it.


	5. Epiphanies suck

Life had been a lot easier before Mindy fully realized that she had feelings for her best friend. Ever since Wiener Night, she couldn’t deny it anymore. She didn’t know what made it finally click with her. It could have been her conversation with Peter that made her remember the night before she left. It could have been Danny turning down some floozy in favor of spending time with her. It also could have been seeing his naked body plastered on every wall of the gallery. Somehow, she really didn’t think it was the latter though.

It had been slowly building since the first time they went out but for whatever reason after Wiener Night, she couldn’t play it off anymore. She couldn’t justify it as a part of their friendship. She couldn’t deny that she had real and borderline deep feelings for Danny Castellano. And she was okay with that. She was ready to embrace it. But the prospect that he might not return her feelings scared the crap out of her.

So she never mentioned anything. She never made any advances, though she had ample time to do so. They still spent just as much time together. A lot of nights ended with them sitting on his or her couch watching TV and talking about their days. They were acting like an actual couple, just minus any physical affection. The more times they hung out at one of their apartments, the closer Danny got to her on the couch. It was beginning to get to her. She would do her best to slowly inch away from him, but it wasn’t enough sometimes. It wasn’t enough when all she wanted to do was throw herself at him and kiss him within an inch of his life. So hanging out was getting hard.

That didn’t mean that she had stopped it though. She’d cancelled their plans once because she wanted a night to herself and he got a sad puppy dog look on her face and she conceded and went to dinner with him. The whole time she just kept thinking about him and how she felt about him. Occasionally when he was going on some boring rant about whatever, pictures from the gallery would pop in her head. It was all very problematic.

She was fairly certain that Danny had no idea that she was going crazy. Sometimes she worried that she just had residual feelings from her relationship with Casey and Danny was the person they landed on. But the jolt she got in her stomach when he smiled at her or put his hand on her back as they crossed the street was very real.

Luckily, she didn’t think that everything in her head (and heart) was affecting their relationship. As he was leaving work, he’d stopped by her office and asked if she’d wanted dinner. Somehow they’d ended up getting food and eating at his apartment.

“Danny, no,” Mindy demanded.

Danny turned away from his movie collection to look at her. “Come on, you love Tom Hanks!”

“No, I love Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. He was also fantastic in the Toy Story movies. But because I love him in some movies, does not mean I’ll enjoy Saving Private Ryan,” Mindy reasoned.

“You said to choose a movie. This is my choice.”

Mindy scrunched up her face in disgust. “Really?” She whined.

“Yeah,” he said gesturing her towards the couch. “I think you’ll like it. Just bring the bottle of wine over here.”

Mindy scoffed. “Like I’m gonna go without drinking if you’re making me watch _this._ ”  

Mindy sat down at the end of the couch and curled her legs under herself, pouring a lot of wine into her glass. Danny popped the movie in and walked back over and sat down in the middle of the couch. He was too close to her. She wished she had more room to creep away. She knew if there was some part that startled her she’d for sure end up jumping on him. And what happened after that would not be good.

After a couple glasses of wine and way too much gunfire for her taste, Mindy started to feel tired. She kept fighting it, but it’s not like anything was really keeping her attention. She was giving into sleep when she felt herself slide against the couch and rest against something firm. Right before she fell asleep, she noted an arm wrapping around her, tucking her into whatever firm thing she was leaning against.

She came to an unknown amount of time later. She opened her eyes and let herself wake up a bit before looking around. She moved her head and noticed she was laying curled up against Danny. He was asleep too and still had his arm around her. She was tucked right in under his chin. She was a bit overwhelmed by the proximity. She wanted to move, but she didn’t want to wake him up. There was a blanket covering both of them. Had he intentionally cuddled her? She figured out how to prop herself up enough that her head was no longer on his chest. She was looking around, trying to figure out how to move the rest of her body without jostling him, when she felt him move. She looked back at him as he was opening his eyes. He blinked a few times before staring at her.

“Hey,” he said in a sleepy voice. It was doing things to her.

“Hey,” she replied shortly, looking away, trying to focus on her escape. She could feel his gaze still on her. His arm hadn’t moved yet either. She looked back at him. For someone who had just woken up, he had a pretty intense look on his face. She couldn’t help but stare. She wondered if he was thinking about kissing her. As that thought went through her head, her eyes flicked down to his lips. She made eye contact again, feeling his eyes bore into her. She was so close to him. All it would take was a small lean and they would be kissing. The staring became too much for her though and she looked away, attempting to sit up. He moved so she could get up.

She grabbed her wine glass and took it over to the sink. It was nice to get some distance between them. She didn’t know how much restraint she still had in her. She wasn’t to the point yet where she felt like she could approach him about what was going on. She was still too scared that he didn’t return the feelings. And she wasn’t ready to ruin their friendship yet if that was the case. She walked to grab her purse off the kitchen table and when she turned around, he was up off the couch and behind her.

“It’s late. You can just stay here,” he offered.

Mindy couldn’t deny that it sounded tempting. “Thanks, but I should get home. Sleeping on a couch would probably wreck my back.” Easy reasoning.

Danny scoffed at her. “Well then you can –”

Mindy interrupted him. “Besides, I don’t have a change of clothes for work tomorrow. So I’m just gonna head home.” She knew she couldn’t let him offer to share his bed with her. She wasn’t sure that’s what he was going to say. She just shut it all down instead.

“Okay. Your decision,” Danny conceded.

She walked over to the door and he followed her, wrapping her into a hug before she left. She didn’t remember him being this much of a hugger before they started fake dating. She pulled away quickly. She was out in the hallway when he stopped her.

“Hey,” he called. She turned back to look at him. “Text me when you get home. So I know.”

She couldn’t fight the broad smile gracing her face. She nodded and walked toward the elevator. She made sure to let him know when she got home, though she was pretty sure he was probably asleep again by then. Mindy went about her bedtime routine, but when she laid down in bed, she missed the feel of Danny’s arm around her.  She laid awake thinking about everything some more. No matter how many times she tried to sleep, it evaded her. She knew she was going to look haggard the next day, and it was all stupid Danny’s fault.

~~

She walked in the next morning and headed straight for the break room. She needed coffee and a lot of it. She hadn’t taken her sunglasses off, because she was too afraid of what her face looked like on zero sleep. Makeup could only conceal so much sometimes. She lifted off her sunglasses and poured a huge cup of coffee.

“Hey, morning, Min,” Danny said cheerily behind her. She turned around and glared. “Damn, not a good morning?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m exhausted!” She whined.

“You should have just stayed over,” Danny replied.

“I’m sorry, _stayed over_ ,” Peter repeated as he walked in the room. “I _knew_ you two were doing it!”

Mindy glared at Peter and shook her head. “Please stop.”

“Now that this is a thing, I’ll make sure I knock whenever I enter one of your offices. Who knows what I could walk in on,” Peter added giddily.

Mindy groaned. “It’s not a thing. You’re disgusting. Please leave,” she said.

“Yeah, sure Mindy,” he laughed, winking at Danny as he left.

Danny looked up at Mindy with an inquisitive expression. A thought occurred to her and she followed after Peter. She walked into his office and closed the door quickly behind her. He looked up curiously.

“You’re on call tonight. Trade with me,” Mindy demanded.

“What? Why? Do you have Saturday? I’m not trading with you so you can go on a date with Danny,” Peter insisted.

“No, I have Thursday. Just please trade with me. No questions asked.”

“Oh there’s gonna be questions asked.” Peter paused. “But I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Mindy said, quickly leaving his office.

~~

She’d been sitting at the hospital for two hours with nothing to do. One patient had come in with false labor. Otherwise, nothing had really been happening. Peter walked in and plopped down in the chair.

“What are you doing here?” Mindy asked.

“I was supposed to be on call tonight but I’m suddenly not. I got bored. I thought I’d come and hang out with you,” he answered.

“Ew, why?”

“That’s so nice, Mindy.” Peter looked around. “Slow night?” Mindy nodded in reply. “Can I ask you a question?”

She looked over and glared at him. “Tread lightly.”

“What was your real reason for suddenly trading call shifts with me?”

Mindy let her head fall back against the couch as she groaned. She really didn’t want to tell him. At the same time, she kind of wanted to tell someone. “I don’t know if I trust you enough to tell you.”

Peter leaned forward in his chair. “Come on, it’s me, Trusty Pete.”

“Do people actually call you that?” Mindy asked, weirded out by the name.

“Let’s pretend they do. What’s up?”

Mindy sighed. She took a long pause before answering. “You weren’t as wrong about things as I may have led you to believe.” Peter looked confused. “I do have…feelings for Danny. And I made you trade with me because I thought it would be too hard to spend another evening with him.”

Peter looked at her with a blank expression. “So I was right?”

“I already said that. Could you please not gloat right now?” Mindy begged.

“So what’s the problem with spending time with Danny if you have feelings for him?” Peter asked.

“The problem is that I don’t know if he feels the same way and it just makes it hard to be around him,” she explained.

Peter laughed. “Trust me, he does.”

“What?”

“Look, you two think that you’ve gone around all these months just spending time together as friends, but clearly something else was going on. You developed feelings for Danny. And if you walk in a room, he looks like he’s staring at the sun. But like in a beautiful metaphorical kinda way, not like he’s squinting at you,” Peter explained.

“Really?” Mindy asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. You don’t notice the way he looks at you. It’s obvious he has feelings for you. And I hate to break it to you, but it’s pretty obvious that you do too.” Peter leaned forward to continue. “Why don’t you just talk to him about it?”

Mindy scoffed. “Really? Because that doesn’t send guys running for the hills? Do you know Danny? Feelings are not his favorite things to talk about.”

“It’s just gonna suck until you do,” Peter reasoned.

“I just don’t feel ready yet. No matter how he feels, if we have that conversation it’s gonna change things.”

“Yeah, like you could get to sleep with him…” Peter reminded her.

“ _Or_ he could not return my feelings, it could get awkward between us, and he could stop spending time with me. Which I really enjoy. Even before I realized all this, we still had a good time together,” she explained.

“Mindy, you’re never gonna get anywhere if you do nothing.”

She begrudgingly nodded in agreement. Peter looked out the window into the hall and got a big smile on his face. He started talking really fast. “Listen, Mindy, you just need to take the leap. I promise you he feels the same. Just talk about it. Okay?”

“What is wrong with you?” Mindy asked. She heard someone walk in the lounge and turned to look at them. It was Danny. That explained Peter’s weirdness at least a bit. She looked back and glared at Peter. Turning back to Danny, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

He held up the bag in his hand. “I thought you might need food,” he explained. “Pete, I thought you had to trade…”

“Yep, I did. But my thing fell through, so I decided to come relieve Mindy. I figure she shouldn’t have to cover for me if I don’t have anything going on. Plus I’m sure she had much more _important_ things she could be doing.” He looked over at her. “Right, Mindy?”

If her glare could kill people, Peter would have been dead in that moment. “Gee, thanks, Peter,” she replied sarcastically.

“That’s nice of you, Peter,” Danny added. “So Mindy do you want to go get real food instead of this crap?” He asked, gesturing to the bag.

“Oh yeah, you should do that Mindy!” Peter cheered.

She stood up off the couch and followed Danny out of the lounge. She pulled him aside. “Listen Danny, I kinda just want to be at my apartment,” she said, trying to delicately explain that she wanted to be alone.

He nodded. “Yeah okay. We can just eat at your apartment then,” he said like there was no problem. Maybe she needed to be a bit more transparent next time. She sighed and agreed to that plan.

As they walked outside and Danny put his hand on her back, she realized it had been stupid to try and spend time away from Danny. That was the problem with falling in love with your best friend, it was hard but you also just wanted to spend all your time with them. Mindy decided to forget her problems for the night and cuddled a bit into Danny as they walked.


	6. Wedding Bell Blues

“Okay so the 12th is a Friday and the 13th is a Saturday. Which works better for you? I’m trying to buy the tickets now.”

Mindy looked at her calendar and saw a note she made for herself on the 13th of that month. “Josh’s Wedding. HAVE A DATE” was staring her in the face. It was the next weekend and she sure as hell didn’t have a date. What had she been thinking? “Oh my God,” she muttered audibly.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked on the other end.

“Um, uh, nothing.”

“You sure?”

Mindy nodded before she realized he couldn’t see her. “Yeah,” she said unconvincingly.

“Okay, so which day works for you?” Danny asked again.

“Yeah that weekend doesn’t work for me. Maybe take your mom,” Mindy answered.

“What? I’m not taking my mom. You said you’d go with me,” Danny pushed.

“Well I can’t that weekend. Sorry.”

Danny sighed on the other end. Mindy was barely paying attention. She was focused on the calendar. How could she have RSVP’d for that wedding? Why did she think it would be a good idea to go to her ex’s wedding? She ruined the last one she’d gone to. “What if we went another weekend?” Danny asked. Mindy shook her head to focus back on the conversation.

“Yeah, another weekend would be better,” she answered. She threw herself down on her couch and sighed.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?” Danny asked again.

She’d kind of forgotten that she was still on the phone. Her mind wasn’t really in the best place. “Really, it’s nothing.”

“Are you, um…” Danny paused.

Mindy could tell where he was going. “If you ask me if I am on my period, I will probably kill you. And no.”

“You can talk to me about stuff, you know?” Danny reminded her. Mindy smiled to herself. She knew she could. That had to be part of how she ended up falling in love with him.

“I know, Danny. But I’m fine.”

“So what are you going to do tonight?” Danny asked.

Mindy snuggled into her couch. “Eh, probably just watch whatever is on TV. You?”

“Same. We lead very exciting lives,” Danny laughed.

“Hey, The Godfather is on. You could stay on the phone and go on rants about Charles Brando and Italian stereotypes,” Mindy offered.

“First of all, it’s Marlon. And second of all, if we’re just gonna stay on the phone, what was the purpose of you saying you wanted to be alone?”

Mindy thought back on her speech about how they should spend nights apart. She did it mostly to protect her heart. “It’s different. Hang up if you want to, but you know you want someone to talk to about your favorite movie. Oh look! He’s gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse,” Mind finished in a terrible impression.

She could hear Danny laughing on the other end. As he began to tell her how awful her impression was, she wished she hadn’t said anything about spending time alone. She’d much rather watch this with him on the couch with her.

~~

“Hey!” Danny greeted as Mindy walked in his apartment.

“Hi,” she replied glumly as she set her stuff down on his kitchen island and plopped down on a stool.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked, looking concerned.

Mindy took a deep breath. She’d tried to think of every option she had, but she couldn’t come up with any. She needed to ask Danny for a huge favor and she wasn’t sure how to start. “I need to ask you a huge favor,” Mindy began. Best to just be open.

“Okay,” he replied hesitantly.

“I know your instinct is going to be to say no, but please just keep an open mind.” He nodded. “I have another fake date request.” He nodded again. She pulled out Josh’s tacky wedding invitation and threw it down on the counter in front of Danny. He picked it up and looked at it before looking back at her disbelievingly.

“Seriously? You want me to go to your sleazy ex boyfriend’s wedding? No.”

“I told you not to say no right away,” Mindy begged.

“Mindy, I’m sorry but there’s a line. I don’t want to go to your ex’s wedding,” Danny explained.

“And you think I do?”

Danny gaped at her. “Well if you don’t want to go then don’t go. It’s as easy as that.”

“I already said I would. Plus, if you don’t go to your ex’s wedding, they’re convinced it’s because you’re not over them. And I am most definitely over Josh. I just don’t want to go to his wedding alone. Please, Danny!”

“No. Mindy, I don’t get it. Why are you doing this?”

“I just said I have to go so he knows I’m over him,” she explained blankly. Danny was shaking his head.

She could see it in her head: her sitting all alone at Josh’s wedding the same way she had at Tom’s. Josh looks at her pityingly and in an angry/pathetic rage she does something stupid and ends up in jail again.

She dropped her head into her hands and tried to fight off every feeling coursing through her. Disappointment, anger, sadness all registered within her. She tried to fight off the question of if there was more to why Danny wouldn’t go with her.

She heard Danny sigh. “I don’t get what the big deal is, Mindy. It’s one wedding. Just don’t go.”

She picked her head up quickly and scowled at him. “That’s the thing though, Danny, it’s _not_ just one wedding. It’s every wedding I get invited to. I am the poor pathetic sad sack who sits at the singles table while people parade around their happiness. And it’s the fact that I thought I was going to get that. I thought I was done being the one who was sad at weddings. I thought I was going to get my own wedding where other people had to scramble to find dates so I didn’t judge _them_. But naturally, that’s not what happened. I am of a certain age, and I still haven’t found it. I probably will never find it. I’ll always be doing this. It was just the ultimate cosmic joke that led me to believe that maybe I could have that. But that’s silly. I’m nowhere near to finding it. I don’t know why three-timing drug addicts get to find love and I don’t, but I guess that’s just the way it is.”

She stood up quickly and grabbed her purse, turning to leave. Danny blocked her way to the door. She glared at him, trying to move around him. He kept blocking her. She stopped, wishing there weren’t tears in her eyes.

Danny looked at her meaningfully. “I’ll go.”

“What? No, you said you didn’t want to go. It was stupid of me to even ask you. I knew you wouldn’t.”

“You’re right, I don’t want to go,” he answered. “But that’s what you do for people you care about; you do what you don’t want to do. So I’ll go with you.”

She could feel the tears spilling over as she studied him. “Are you sure?” He nodded. She threw her arms around him in a big hug. “Thank you.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“You’re wrong, you know. You will find it someday,” he said comfortingly. She could feel the tears running down her face. She didn’t know how to respond. She just hugged him tighter. “I know it sucks, but it will pass.”

She pulled back, looking him in the eye. “Thanks,” she whispered. He smiled and nodded before reaching up to wipe her tears. It all felt very intimate to her. She shook it off and stepped away quickly, walking further back into his apartment.

~~

Mindy had two missions as she dressed for the wedding. She had to look hot enough to make Josh at least the tiniest bit jealous and also hot enough to catch Danny’s eye while still looking classy. As she stood in front of her mirror, she was pretty sure that she’d found the perfect dress for it. Her hair was on point. Her makeup looked good. She strapped on heels that made her ass look good. She felt pretty confident. She heard the knock at the door, signaling Danny’s arrival. She strutted toward the door, ready to wow. She opened the door and couldn’t help but stare. They both were silent as they took in the other.

“Hey,” Mindy finally stammered.

“Hi,” he greeted. “You look…beautiful.”

She smiled brightly. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied. That was an understatement. He looked hot as hell. Maybe bringing Danny had been a bad idea.

The wedding ceremony had been surprisingly sentimental and beautiful. Mindy had expected Josh’s wedding to be filled with stupid sports references and revelations he’d had after he got sober. Instead, it had been really nice. Mindy kept hoping that some part of their wedding wouldn’t be perfect. As an ex it was infuriating that Josh was having the most romantic wedding she’d ever been to. The reception didn’t help. The lighting, the flowers, the music was all perfect for making a romantic setting. She was angrily chomping away on some bread when she heard Danny speak.

“Are you okay?”

She looked over at him. He had a concerned look on his face. “Yep. Totally fine.” He didn’t look like he was buying it. She sighed. “It’s just weird being at an ex’s wedding…”

Danny laughed. “Yeah, that’s why people generally don’t go. You’re the only weirdo who thinks if you get an invitation that you’re obligated to go.”

“You’re wrong. If you get an invitation, that means they want you there,” Mindy defended.

“Yeah, well I bet in hindsight, Tom didn’t want you there…” Danny countered.

Mindy glared at him. Danny laughed. She reached out and slapped him on his arm. “That was a low blow, Castellano.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good thing I drove tonight. We wouldn’t want to drunkenly end up in a pool,” he teased.

She shook her head defiantly. She dramatically stood, pushing her chair back. “I don’t have to take this, sir.” She started walking away. She was near the dance floor when she felt a hand on her forearm. She looked over to see Danny dragging her further onto the dance floor.

The song was rather slow. He held her close as they swayed together. “If you wanted to dance, you could have just asked,” he said. She didn’t know where he got the idea that she had wanted to dance. She’d been walking toward the dessert bar, but she wasn’t about to argue about it now. His hand was low on her back and the other held her hand tight in his. She could barely breathe so close to him. Luckily his dancing skills seemed to be making up for the fact that she was too flustered to move properly.

They’d been dancing for a while when Mindy finally excused herself to the bathroom. On her way back, she ran into Josh. She hadn’t consciously been avoiding him, but she didn’t really mind that she had yet to see him.

“Mindy!” He greeted.

“Josh,” she replied. “Congratulations. This has been a really nice wedding.”

“Thanks. I can’t help but notice that you brought Danny,” he prodded.

She sighed. “Yeah. But it’s not what you think…”

“Oh so it’s not that I was right and that there really is a thing between you two?”

She decided to lie through her teeth. Now was not the time to break down what was actually going on between them. “Nope. I just conned him into coming with me.”

Josh seemed unconvinced. “Well you have a good time.”

Mindy wandered back into the reception hall. She looked around and saw Danny talking to some woman. The woman reached out and placed a hand on Danny’s arm as she laughed. Mindy felt the all too familiar pangs of jealousy strike. Danny looked over and noticed her. She tried to seem nonchalant but she didn’t think she pulled it off very well. She noticed him say something and walk away. She walked toward him and they met on the edge of the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms again and started swaying. It was becoming a thing.

She looked around, noting all the couples dancing happily. She wondered if any of them were fake couples as well. “This was a really beautiful wedding,” she said suddenly.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “That tends to happen when you have a lot of money, though.”

Mindy laughed. “Well if that’s the case, we could have an amazing wedding.” She froze. Had those words actually left her mouth? What was she thinking? She could feel his hand tense on her back. She had to talk her way out of this. “You know, because we are both independently wealthy. So we could afford it. That’s why it would be amazing…” Not much better.

“Yeah. Sure,” Danny replied.

Damn it. She’d wrecked it. They’d been having a great night together and then she ruined it. She could punch herself for how stupid she was. She started to feel Danny pull away slightly and she started freaking out.

He looked down at her. She met his gaze nervously. “I figure we’ve been here long enough,” he started. She looked down. Great, so he wanted to leave. Probably because of how awkward she made things. “How would you feel about leaving and getting a drink or something?” he asked.

She popped her head back up in surprise. She nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that.” She let go of him. “Let me go grab my purse.” She walked back to their table. Maybe she hadn’t ruined everything. She couldn’t resist touching up her lipstick quickly at the table. If they were going somewhere else, she wanted to look as flawless as possible. She grabbed her purse and quickly walked over to where Danny was waiting by the door.

She was about to ask if he was ready to go when he reached out to cup her face and started kissing her. She was so shocked that at first she didn’t respond. When she finally realized what was happening, she threw her arms around him and kissed him back. They kissed passionately, his hands moving from her face to rove over her body. It was like a revelation for her. She’d been waiting so long to kiss him and now she never wanted to stop. She didn’t know how long they’d been standing there kissing frenziedly, but all the sudden his tongue was in her mouth and her hands were in his hair. She moaned and it brought them back to reality. They pulled away slowly, panting as they stood there. Mindy saw her freshly applied lipstick all over Danny’s face. It brought her a sense of pride and zing of excitement.

Danny looked at her and grinned. “Ready to get that drink?”

Mindy laughed lightly and nodded.

Danny leaned back in and kissed her quickly. Pulling back, he grabbed her hand, leading her out of the reception and out into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist the wedding date trope. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Thanks for all the comments and kudos!


	7. Think I'm Gonna Lose My Mind

Mindy’s mind was reeling. Danny had finally kissed her. Once they got in his car, she wasn’t really feeling the drink. All she really wanted to do was kiss him more. She could feel herself becoming jittery with anticipation. Danny reached for the gearshift and she grabbed his hand. He looked up at her in surprise.

“How about we just go back to my apartment?” Mindy asked hesitantly. She didn’t want to seem too forward.

 Danny’s expression went back and forth between intrigued and nervous. “What about getting a drink?”

Mindy smiled. “I have alcohol at my apartment…” she offered. He smirked at her and nodded before putting the car in drive.

Their conversations on the way back to her apartment were awkward and forced. They kept trying to talk around what had actually happened. There were long silences. Mindy kept hoping she wasn’t the only one that was a bit nervous. It really did change things. She knew that if she invited him in, there was probably an assumption along with it. But honestly, she just wanted the chance to be alone with him.

He parked in front of her apartment and followed her in. She held his hand as they walked toward the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, Danny stopped keeping his hands to himself. He pulled her up against him, kissing her again. She eagerly kissed him back. She felt her back hit the back of the wall and any space between them disappeared. They broke apart slowly when they heard the ding for her floor.

They separated as they walked off the elevator and Mindy looked through her purse for her keys. She had her back to Danny as she turned to unlock her door. She felt his lips press a gentle kiss against the back of her neck. She could feel herself turning to mush. She turned around quickly, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and kissing him with bruising passion. Once again he backed her up against the door before he laid a trail of kisses down her neck. She sighed when she felt his hand on her ass while he was kissing her neck. She didn’t care if her neighbors walked by. She wove her hands in his hair and brought his head up so she could kiss him again. As they kissed she realized that her thought from earlier that nothing had to happen was wrong. She wanted him and she wanted him badly. She was seconds away from unlocking the door and dragging him to her bed when his phone rang.

They broke apart and stared at each other for a second. Danny seemed confused until he felt the vibration in his pocket. He quickly grabbed his phone and answered it. She could tell it was work by the way he was conducting his end of the call. When he hung up, he looked apologetic and a bit upset.

He stepped back close to her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m really sorry, but that was the hospital. One of my patients is in labor,” he explained in a quiet voice. She nodded in understanding. He reached up and cupped her face. “I promise this is real. That was really the hospital. I’m not blowing you off. I –”

She smiled and laid her hand on the side of his neck. “Danny, you’ve been warning me all week that Mrs. Masterson was going into labor any day now. I know you’re not blowing me off.”

He smiled appreciatively at her, rubbing his thumb affectionately against her cheek. He leaned back in and kissed her slow and meaningfully. He leaned his forehead against hers, still stroking her cheek. “Okay, I should go,” he said reluctantly.

She smiled and laid her hand on his chest. “You really should. Your patient needs you,” she reminded him. He stared at her for a moment before kissing her quickly again and turning to leave. Once he rounded the corner, she turned back to actually unlock her door. She sighed to herself, still almost not believing it had all really happened.

“Hey, Mindy,” she heard Danny say. She turned around quickly to look at him. She heard the elevator ding its arrival. He looked at her meaningfully. “I had a great time tonight,” he said with a big smile.

She couldn’t fight the smile she returned. “Me too.” He looked at her for a beat longer before rushing forward to catch the elevator.

She finally let herself into her apartment. As she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it, sighing. The night had turned out significantly better than she had originally anticipated. Knowing what she knew now, she kicked herself for not making a move weeks ago when she’d wanted to.

~~

Monday morning came and Mindy was buzzing. She hadn’t seen Danny since they’d kissed. She’d barely even talked to him since then because his delivery had been really long and complicated. She couldn’t wait to see him. As she walked into the office and the whole staff was there, she realized that it was work and she should probably actually do work. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t probably try to at least steal a kiss behind closed doors. She popped her head in Danny’s office but he wasn’t there.

Turning around, she spotted Jeremy. “Hey, Jeremy,” she yelled, getting his attention. “Where’s Danny?”

“He is checking in on a patient at the hospital before he gets here,” Jeremy explained. “Why?”

Mindy shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “Nothing. Just wanted to chat,” she lied.

“Well I’m sure he’ll be here soon and then you can both get no work done,” Jeremy replied in a snarky tone. Mindy glared at him as she walked toward her office.

She sat down to work on some paperwork. She wasn’t working long when she heard a knock at her door. The thought that it could be Danny gave her a knot in her stomach. She called out for him to enter but the man that entered wasn’t Danny. Behind him, she could see Morgan and Betsy’s curious faces staring in her direction.

“Casey?” Mindy asked quietly.

Casey walked further into her office and shut the door, shutting Morgan and Betsy out of the conversation.

“Hey Mindy,” he greeted her.

Mindy was freaking out. Casey was probably the last person she’d expected to see. She honestly hadn’t thought about him in a while. Most of the times she’d thought of him recently had been in comparison to Danny. And Danny had been winning in those thoughts.

“What are you doing here?” She asked hesitantly.

He walked forward and sat down in a chair. “It’s been a few months now but I’m starting to make something of myself and I wanted you to know.”

She sat down slowly on her side of her desk. “What does that mean?”

“I know you wanted me to grow up a bit and to stabilize my life more. I’ve grown a lot since we broke up, Mindy. It kind of made me grow. And I’ve got a lot of great things happening and I want to share them with you,” Casey explained.

“You want to get back together?” She replied disbelievingly.

“I want to have dinner. I want to catch up and talk.” Mindy looked at him unsurely. He raised his hands up in surrender. “Just dinner, I promise.” He paused. “I mean yeah, I’ll probably try to convince you that we’re still right for each other, but still just dinner.”

She knew the only way to get rid of him and get back to work would be to agree to dinner. She reluctantly said she would meet him later that night for dinner. He gleefully told her where they should meet before she ushered him out of her office. He closed the door behind him as she took a minute before walking back out into reception. As she walked out of her office, she noticed Danny’s office door closing. She felt her stomach drop. That had to mean that he saw Casey coming from Mindy’s office. They hadn’t even gotten the chance to talk yet. She groaned to herself. This was unnecessary conflict. And while she was all for drama, she didn’t need it right now.

~~

Somehow she’d missed Danny all day. It happened sometimes. Their appointments just overlapped and they barely ran into each other. But by the end of the day, Mindy’s nerves were fried and she had to talk to him. She packed up her stuff and walked toward his office. Her knock made him look up from his computer. The controlled blank look on his face hurt her.

“Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey.” He was giving her nothing to work with. She stepped a few steps further into his office.

“I feel like I didn’t see you at all today,” she prodded.

He barely took his eyes off his computer. “Yeah, I was pretty busy today.”

Finally she sighed and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “Danny, I’ve been wanting to talk to you all day. Can we just talk?”

Danny looked over at her. He looked sad. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to make you late for your dinner.”

Mindy dropped her head, closing her eyes. She looked back up at him. “It means nothing,” she assured him. “How did you hear about it?”

He chuckled. “In this office? Are you serious? Betsy’s already planning your “Getting back together” party.”

Mindy laid her face in her hands and groaned. “No privacy,” she lamented. Looking back at him, she continued. “It really means nothing. I only agreed to dinner because I thought it would be the only way to get him to leave.”

“So you aren’t even a little curious of what he has to say?”

“No,” Mindy insisted.

“Look, Mindy, let’s just talk after your dinner. I don’t want to stand in the way of anything. I don’t want to add conflict or whatever,” Danny replied glumly.

“Danny, _you_ aren’t the one –”

“You need to hear what he has to say,” Danny interrupted. Mindy stared at him pleadingly. “Even if you say it means nothing, aren’t you the one who believes in closure?”

Mindy didn’t respond. She stared at him, wishing she’d seen him before she saw Casey. “Danny this is stupid.”

He nodded. They sat there staring at each other. There was so much she wanted to say but he wouldn’t let her. At the same time she wanted to run behind his desk and kiss him again. Finally he nodded toward the door saying, “Go. You’re gonna be late.”

Mindy rolled her eyes. She looked back at him. He was still looking at her. For all she was holding back, she could tell he was holding a lot back too. She stood up slowly, not wanting to leave. In the same slow way, she walked back toward the door. “You know I’m gonna make you talk,” she reminded him.

He looked up with a small grin on his face. “I’d expect nothing less,” he replied.

She smiled before turning around and leaving. She didn’t want to leave him. She didn’t want to go have dinner with her ex-fiancé. Her anticipation from earlier in the morning seemed like such a distant memory. Mondays were always the worst, but this Monday really took the cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've really appreciated all the love for this story! I hope everyone continues to enjoy it!! :)


	8. Putting Off the Inevitable

Mindy was pacing outside the restaurant for five minutes before making herself go inside. She knew talking to Casey was going to be weird. It would probably bring up a lot of feelings that she had comfortably tucked away a long time ago. She’d been proud of herself for doing the hard thing and ending her relationship with him. She felt like this dinner was attempting to negate all that growth.

She spotted Casey at the back of the restaurant at a cozy table for two. He looked happy to see her. She forced on a smile and walked back to him. He stood up and hugged her. It was awkward. Granted, she couldn’t help compare it to the last pair of arms that had held her.

“Sorry I’m late. Work was crazy,” Mindy lied.

“That’s completely understandable,” Casey said happily. “So how have you been?”

Mindy saw the waitress approach out of the corner of her eye. She looked over eagerly.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Wine.”

The waitress stared at her to elaborate. “What kind?”

“Um, strong…” Mindy answered. The waitress was still waiting for more information. She looked confused.

“Just get her a glass of the Pinot,” Casey helped. Mindy smiled at him and then back at the waitress.

“I can do that,” she said, turning around to leave.

“So where were we? Oh yeah, how have you been?” Casey asked again.

Mindy nodded in thought, trying to come up with the best way to describe how she’d been. She didn’t want to tell Casey that she’d basically been dating Danny since the week after they broke up. “Uh, good. I’ve been busy. Work can get really crazy. I’ve delivered a lot of babies.”

“I bet you have,” he replied with a smile. He must have expected her to elaborate but she didn’t. She expected him to take over the conversation but he didn’t. So they just sat there in an awkward silence. Mindy knew coming to this dinner would be a big mistake.

The silence became too much for her. “So, uh, what have you been up to?”

Casey went on to explain that he’d moved out to California. He started a little shoe shop that had gotten really popular really fast. He was apparently really happy and doing really well. He did most of the talking. He paused briefly to order and then kept talking. Eventually, she realized he was talking up how great his life was because he wanted her to be a part of it again. She tried to discreetly pull out her phone so she could send Danny a text.

**As my best friend, you failed. Every best friend is supposed to offer a bailout call for dinners their best friends don’t want to go to. I could take that call any minute now…**

She didn’t know if she was crossing a line by sending it, but she did anyway. They were still friends. And he seemed to think it was in her best interest to go to dinner with Casey. That had to be the only reason he would urge her to go right? Closure and all that? She was busy worrying about how this dinner would affect her relationship with Danny and had completely tuned Casey out. She focused on him again but he was still chattering on about California. Crisis averted. She felt her phone vibrate and she looked down to see that Danny had replied.

**My bad. Maybe a different part of the tier can do that. I was trying to be helpful.**

She smiled to herself at Danny’s reference to the best friend tier. He remembered the smallest things that she said and it always made her heart soar a little bit when he quoted them back to her. Her phone buzzed again.

**You’re a doctor. You can always fake a call from the hospital. Works like a charm.**

Mindy smirked at his reply. She couldn’t resist replying.

**Excuse me?**

His reply came in almost immediately.

**That’s not what happened Saturday. I PROMISE.**

She worried that maybe she’d upset him.

**I know. I’m just messing with you.**

She glanced up at Casey and then back down to her phone.

**Believe me, it’s way more entertaining than dinner with my ex.**

**Maybe it would be more entertaining if you actually paid attention…**

Mindy could tell that was his way of urging her to try to actually listen to what Casey had to say. Even if it was annoying the hell out of her, she appreciated that Danny cared enough to scold her into getting something out of this dinner. She put her phone back away and focused back on Casey.

“Listen, Mindy, there’s something that I really want to tell you. I have this opportunity to bring my store out here. An old buddy of mine who lives here thinks I should try.”

“Oh?” Mindy asked. She could tell where this was going.

“If I do, I’d be here a lot. In fact, I’d probably be moving back to New York.” Casey paused and took a deep breath. “If I move back here, Mindy, I want to know that we still have a chance. I want to give us another shot.”

And there it was. She leaned forward. “Look, Casey, I –”

“I know what you’re gonna say. You’re gonna say that you don’t know if it’s a good idea. But I love what I do now. And I still love you Mindy. I tried to move on and it just didn’t happen for me. Honestly, knowing whether or not you’ll give me another chance will determine how I handle this next move.”

“What? If you can expand your business and it’s not risky, you should do that, regardless of me,” Mindy explained.

“I’m on the fence about expanding. And if there was the chance that we could get back together, that would feel like a sign to me. Like a sign from the universe that I should be in New York City.”

“Casey, I don’t want you to base anything on me.”

“Just take some time and think about it. Please. We can meet again on Saturday and talk about your decision. Just think about it,” he urged.  

Mindy didn’t think it was appropriate to tell him that her decision now and her decision on Saturday would quite likely be the same. She just nodded.

After dinner, they walked outside and she tried to flag down a cab. He pulled her into another big hug. She hugged him back, wondering what she had done to have him still so hung up on her. He kissed her on the cheek before letting her go. He looked her in the eye as her cab pulled up. “Please think about it. I miss you so much, Mindy.”

She nodded. “I will.” He smiled and opened the door to the cab for her.

“I’ll see you on Saturday,” he reminded her.

She gave the driver her address but part of her couldn’t help but consider going to Danny’s instead. Thinking she wouldn’t get anywhere with him tonight, she sat back and rode home. It had easily been the longest day ever.

~~

Tuesday had passed without much interaction between Danny and Mindy. She suspected he was planning it that way. Two days in a row of not seeing each other except in passing wasn’t common for them. Each time she had a chance to talk to Danny, Betsy or Morgan would approach her with questions about her reunion with Casey. She kindly explained that he wanted her to make up her mind about them by the end of the week. When she didn’t see much of Danny on Wednesday either, she suspected that he’d heard the end of the week story.

She couldn’t take it though. She wanted to see him. She wanted to explain things to him that he wouldn’t let her do so before. She wasn’t going to let him avoid her the whole week. That was stupid. She took matters into her own hands and went to his apartment. She was getting out of the cab when he started walking down the stairs.

“Mindy?” he asked, confused to see her there.

“Yeah. You can’t avoid people when they know where you live,” she said aggressively. Noting his face, she decided to back down a bit.

He walked closer to her. “I’m not avoiding you,” he insisted.

“I’m not stupid, Danny.”

He sighed. He looked at his feet. After a sigh from Mindy, he looked back up at her. “Look, I want to talk, I do. I just…I don’t want to get in the way of your potential happiness.”

She stepped closer and without thinking grabbed the front of his jacket. “Danny, you’re not. And if you’d let me get more than two words in, I could fully explain that to you.”

He looked stunned from her proximity. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I just want you to be totally sure, Min.”

“What if I already am?” She asked, challenging him.

He sighed, pulling his hand back from her head. “Look, I was actually leaving. I have to go meet my mom and –”

“Oh my God! You want me to meet your mom?” Mindy asked in a very high pitch.

Danny looked surprised. “Umm…”

Mindy released her hold on his jacket and took a small step back. “Never mind. You were just saying that’s where you were going. I am an idiot.” She felt herself blushing. She patted him on the arm. “You go have fun with your mom.”

He nodded. “You’re not an idiot. And thanks.” He flagged down a cab, turning back to look at her before getting in. “Min?” She looked at him again. “We _will_ talk soon.” She smiled and nodded at him.

“I’ll hold you to that, Castellano,” she promised him.

She sighed as she watched his cab drive away from the curb. One of these days maybe her life would get easier and she could finally be with the man she loved.


	9. Heart to Heart

It was Friday night and Mindy was gathering her things, ready for it to finally be the weekend. She hadn’t talked to Danny since their interaction outside his apartment. She tried not to worry herself about it. He said they would talk. She just hoped they’d be on the same page when it happened.

She turned the lights out in her office and closed the door behind her. She looked around to see that no one else was in the office. She’d heard Morgan and Peter leave earlier to go to a bar with Jeremy. And apparently everyone else had cleared out too. Even Danny’s office was dark. How had it happened that _she_ was the last person at the office on a Friday night?

She was leaving the building when a man stopped her. “Are you Dr. Mindy Lahiri?”

She took a step back from him. “Yes. Who’s asking?” She answered hesitantly.

He walked over and opened the back door to a limo. “My orders are to pick you up, my lady,” he said with a smile.

“And who do your orders come from exactly?” she inquired.

“I’m afraid that’s a surprise. I was told not to tell you that.”

“What makes you think I’ll actually go with you? You could be trying to kidnap me.”

“What if I promise you that I’m not going to do that?” He asked.

“Still seems pretty shady, Bob,” she replied.

He shook his head. “My name isn’t Bob.”

“Well in my mind it is. What _is_ your name?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

She paused. She couldn’t deny that she was intrigued. “Tell me, do I know this person who gives you your orders?”

“I believe so.”

She walked toward him. She held out her hand to him. “I want you to shake my hand and swear that you are not going to kill me or kidnap me or take me to anyone who will then do that.” He nodded and reached out his hand. “And I want you to hold up your other hand so I can see if you’re crossing your fingers!”

He held out one hand and held up the other. He shook her hand firmly. It was probably the stupidest thing she’d ever done in her life, but she climbed in the backseat of the limo. She felt at least somewhat comforted that she could see out the windows.

He started driving and her mind started racing. What was happening? Where was she being taken? Was this Casey trying to make some gesture for her before she had to make her mind up? She spent most of the ride there worrying. This story could either end with it being an amazing story or the worst one ever. Eventually she felt the car stop and he came back to open her door. She got out and looked up.

“Are you serious?” She asked him disbelievingly.

“This is where I was told to bring you.”

“Really? The Empire State Building?”

“Yep. Now, your ticket is waiting for you inside at the desk. It is under your name. Once you get to the top, you’ll probably understand a bit better,” the driver explained with a smile.

She shook her head in confusion. “Okay. Here goes. Thanks, Bob.”

“Still not Bob.”

She laughed before turning to look at the building and taking a deep breath. She walked forward and into the building. There were lots of people milling around in the lobby. She walked over to the desk and got her ticket. They wouldn’t tell her who was behind everything. She got in line but could tell she would have to wait. That meant she had more time to freak out over what was happening. Finally it was her turn and she was in the elevator, both her heart and mind racing.

She walked out onto the observation deck, seeing that beautiful view of the city. She couldn’t enjoy it yet, not until she knew what was happening. She looked around trying to figure out who had organized it all.

She heard his voice from behind her. “So you made it.”

She turned around, unable to hold back the smile gracing her face. “Danny? It was you?” He walked toward her with purpose. “You were the one who had me kidnapped?”

“Kidnapped? Salvatore wasn’t supposed to kidnap you…”

“Salvatore! That’s why he couldn’t tell me his name. Because it was so Italian I would know who was behind this,” Mindy explained. Danny nodded with a guilty grin. Mindy looked around the observation deck before looking back at Danny. “So what is all this?”

Danny stood a little taller and took a deep breath before looking back at Mindy. “The first time I suggested we go on a fake date, it was just so I could try and make you feel better. Seeing you unhappy made me feel disoriented. And then we started spending so much time together that I got used to your presence. I felt selfish. I had started this whole thing to make you happier and that’s what you ended up making me. I could feel myself changing under your influence. And I couldn’t stop spending time with you, even when I could tell you just wanted a night to yourself.”

He paused, making sure she understood him. She smiled and nodded for him to continue.

He reached out for her hands, holding them in his. “Mindy, I think that you are an amazing person. You’re kind and considerate and absolutely beautiful. I’ve loved all the time we spent together over the last few months. Even when you’re dissing my taste in movies,” he added with a laugh.

“Danny, it’s terrible and you know this,” Mindy assured him.

“Yeah, okay,” he replied. He moved closer to her. “The dates we went on may have been fake, but the feelings that I have for you are anything but fake. And they feel a lot like love.” She could barely breathe. She’d been waiting so long for him to say something like this. He looked at her meaningfully. “I love you, Mindy. I just wanted you to know, especially since I know I’m not the only person who’s said so recently.”

She looked down and nodded slightly. “You’re right. You aren’t the only one who’s said that to me recently,” she said. She looked up and he dropped his gaze from her. She pulled her hands away from his and reached up to cup his face. He looked at her in confusion. “But the difference is you’re the only person I actually wanted to hear say it.” He smiled at her so brightly, it was almost blinding.

“Yeah?” He whispered.

She nodded happily. “Yeah,” she replied, assuring him. “Danny, I love you too. I have for a while actually. Which is what I wanted to tell you this week but you were busy being a butt,” she explained, moving one hand from his face to slap him on the arm.

“Ow!” he exclaimed. “I’m sorry for being a, how did you delicately put it, a butt. But you know, it’s hard to put yourself out there when there’s a chance the person will say no thanks.”

Mindy shook her head humoredly at him. “So you decided to do just that at the Empire State Building?” she asked, gesturing around her.

Danny shrugged. “It’s your favorite place, not mine…”

She smiled. “And you remembered.” She looked around. “Although I do remember you saying that it seems like a lot of money just to –”

Danny didn’t let her finish. He grabbed her face in his hands and brought his lips down on hers. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the distance between them. Danny kissed her deeply, for all of New York to see as she’d always wanted. They broke apart when someone walked by and cleared their throat. They rested their foreheads together, smiling and panting in unison. Danny leaned forward and kissed her again slowly.

Pulling back he asked, “So how about dinner?”

She kissed him again a few more times before she looked him in the eye and said, “No. We have some unfinished business to attend to…”

He looked confused for a second. She could see when it clicked. His eyes grew darker and he looked at her intensely. He grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in for another passionate kiss. He grabbed her hand saying, “Let’s get out of here.”


	10. There's Got to Be A Morning After

Mindy was in that sweet spot between waking up and getting up. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, she was just lying there comfortably. She could feel Danny moving to leave the bed but she wasn’t ready for that to happen yet. She tightened her arms around him and burrowed into him more. She could feel him chuckle right before she felt his arms move back around her.

She kissed him lightly on his neck saying, “What makes you think you’re going somewhere?”

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I was going to make breakfast.”

She snuggled in closer. “Forget breakfast. This is nice.”

“Really?” Danny asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I kinda like you just holding me,” she answered, hoping she wasn’t giving too much away. She could feel his arms curl tighter around her. He seemed to like her answer. She fell back asleep but not for long. She was actually pretty hungry. Not eating dinner the night before might account for that. Her stomach growling told her the jig was up. She needed food. She could hear Danny laughing.

He got up and started putting on clothes. She stretched out her arms and legs, finally letting herself wake up. He leaned down and kissed her. When he started walking around the bed she looked over at the clock. “Oh my God, it’s eleven o’clock?” Mindy asked.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you waste your morning,” Danny replied with a chuckle.

“Hey! Cuddling is not wasting the morning! Sleeping late is what happens when you don’t really go to sleep until the sun is about to come up,” Mindy explained.

Danny turned around to face her as he put his shirt on. “Are you complaining?”

She looked back at him with a devilish grin. “Not in the slightest.” She crawled to the edge of the bed closest to him and leaned up to kiss him. He smiled before leaning down and kissing her slowly.

Pulling back slightly he asked, “So Saturday, what do you want to do?”

A realization occurred to Mindy. She pulled back quickly. “Oh my God, it’s Saturday! And it’s after eleven.”

“Yeah…?”

Mindy looked at Danny apologetically. “I can’t stay.”

Danny wrapped his arms around Mindy, pulling her closer. “What? Why?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at him. “I told Casey I’d get lunch with him.”

Danny sighed, loosening his grip on her slightly. “Huh, I’d basically forgotten about him.”

Mindy laughed lightly. “I kinda did too.” Mindy leaned up and kissed Danny quickly again. “Okay. Here’s the plan. I’m gonna put clothes on and go to lunch and then I’m going to come back and you are not going to be in clothes. That work?”

Danny grinned at her. “Yeah, I guess that’ll work.”

~~

Mindy was running a little bit late. It had taken her longer to leave Danny’s apartment than she’d anticipated. She sort of couldn’t stop kissing him. Now that she was free to do so, it was hard to stop. She fought the smile on her face as she walked into the café where she was supposed to meet Casey.  

Casey stood up to greet her. “Hey, there was a rush of people so I ordered for you.”

Mindy just nodded. “Okay, that’s fine.” The less time she had to spend with him, the better.  She took a sip of the water in front of her. Looking around, there did seem to be a lot of people in the restaurant. “So how – ”

“I can’t do this, Mindy,” Casey interrupted.

“What?” Mindy asked, taken aback. “Do what?”

“I can’t wait. I can’t make aimless conversation. I’m sorry,” Casey explained.

Mindy nodded. “I understand.”

“I need to know, Mindy. What did you decide?” Casey pleaded.

Mindy took a deep breath to answer when the waitress approached the table. “And here we go, your meals are here!” Mindy nodded politely and thanked her. Casey basically kept staring at Mindy.

“Look, Casey, I’m sorry.” His head dropped when she said it. She reached out and grabbed his hand. “We had a great time together. It was such a good part of my life. But that chapter has ended. And now it’s time for us to move on and start new chapters.”

Casey looked up desperately, grasping her hand. “But what if it doesn’t have to end?”

She looked at him pleadingly. She had really hoped it wouldn’t be hard for him to understand. “Casey, I’m really sorry, but I moved on. I wanted you to be happy and I would hope that you would want the same for me. And I finally feel that way. I’m finally happy again.”

“I _do_ want you to be happy. I guess I just selfishly wanted it to be with me,” Casey said solemnly. “There’s really no way we could make this work?”

Mindy took a deep breath. “I’m with someone.” Casey exhaled slowly, letting go of her hand. “I’m sorry, but that’s why we can’t get back together. Because I really have moved on,” Mindy explained.

Casey sat there silently for a while, looking at anything but her. Finally he looked back at her and asked, “Is it Danny?”

“What?” Mindy gasped.

“Your friend, Danny, is he the new guy?”

Mindy stayed silent. She couldn’t decide if she should lie or not. She inhaled quickly. “Yes, actually it is.” Casey laughed and shook his head. “How did you know?”

“You two just seemed too close. Like the only thing that was keeping you from being together was me.”

“That’s not true. That’s completely not true,” Mindy insisted.

“Really? How long have you been together?”

Mindy laughed to herself quietly. “It’s actually pretty recent.”

Casey sighed to himself. “I should never have called off our quickie wedding.”

Mindy scoffed. “Marriage doesn’t automatically mean happiness. I really wouldn’t have been happy if you’d flaked on me when we were married. I would have just felt obligated to follow you and probably would have resented you for it.” Mindy pulled some money out of her wallet and laid it down on the table. “Look, Casey, I wish you nothing but happiness. I hope your business thrives. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the answer you wanted. But I think it’s for the best,” Mindy said, standing up to leave.

“Wait, Mindy!” Casey called. She turned around and looked back at him. “Everything you just said, the same goes.” Mindy smiled at him before leaving.

~~

Mindy walked back into Danny’s apartment and he turned around, surprised to see her. “Well that was fast,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah. So do you have food?” Mindy asked, opening the fridge to rummage through it.

Danny walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I thought you were getting lunch?”

She turned around in his arms. “He decided to start the conversation before I could eat and it got too awkward to stay. So, food?”

Danny leaned in to kiss her quickly. “I could make you something,” he offered.

“No that’ll take too long!” Mindy whined.

“Okay, how about a pizza?”

“Danny, I don’t think you understand _how_ hungry I am. I haven’t eaten since _yesterday_. Yesterday, Danny! And I have had a lot of sex since then. I just want food. And I want it now!” Mindy demanded.

Danny looked a bit frightened. “I have some chips you could eat while we wait for the pizza…”

Mindy pointed at him. “That, right there, that is why I love you. Give ‘em to me!”

Danny dug out the bag of chips and handed it to her. She grabbed it from him greedily and stalked over to the couch. “Not even gonna grab a dish?”

Mindy whipped back around to look at him. “Do you really want to mess with hangry Mindy? Danny, this, us, it’s still fresh. Do you want to ruin this already?” Danny shook his head cautiously. “That’s what I thought.” Mindy heard Danny ordering a pizza over her euphoria of finally getting food.

Finally he came over and sat down next to her slowly. “I won’t bite,” she laughed.

He laughed and put his arm around her, wrapping her in close to him. He was silent for a moment. “So are you…okay?”

She turned to look at him. “Because of Casey?” He nodded hesitantly. She reached up with her not greasy hand and touched his face. “Danny, I’m here with you. I’m great,” she answered with a big smile. He smiled back and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

Suddenly Mindy put the bag of chips on the table and turned her whole body to face Danny. He looked startled. “Okay, I have something I want to ask you. Now I know that your first instinct is to shut down and not answer, but I want you to fight that, because I really want an answer. And I think I deserve it, too.”

“Okay…” Danny replied nervously.

“Before I left for Haiti, when we were in the doctors’ lounge after my going away party, was there a moment? Were you going to kiss me?” Mindy inquired.

Danny stared at her for a moment before answering. “If I was going to kiss you, don’t you think I would have?”

“No! No, don’t do that. That’s an evasive answer. Tell me the truth Daniel Castellano!”

Danny held his hands up in surrender. “Fine,” he started. He sighed before continuing. “Yes, okay, I was going to. Yes. You happy?”

 “Well no. Why didn’t you kiss me? We could have been together months ago!”

“If you’ll remember, you mentioned Casey and I backed off. Maybe you should look at yourself before you put the blame on me,” Danny reminded her.

“Oh whatever,” Mindy replied. “I’m sure if I hadn’t said anything, you still would have found a way to chicken out.”

Danny shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know. Because you blew it.” He laughed, trying to dodge Mindy’s slap. “Why does it matter anyway? We got it together eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess. It could have been _months_ ago though.”

“Or, I could have kissed you and you could have slapped me away,” Danny countered.

Mindy leaned in close and whispered, “Trust me, that wouldn’t have happened.” Danny smirked before meeting her the rest of the way and kissing her. She was about to deepen the kiss when there was a knock at the door.

“Must be the pizza!” Danny cheered. He opened the door and paid the man before bringing it over to the couch.

“How on earth did it get here so fast?” Mindy asked.

“I may have said I would pay extra if they’d expedite it. Some lie about a pregnant wife about to go crazy over a craving…I don’t know. But they went for it.”

Mindy shook her head, laughing. “That is ridiculous! But I love it.” Danny sat back down, opening the box for her. She leaned over and kissed him again. “And I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kind comments! Sorry there was a bit of a break there. School took over my life again. There should be one more chapter. I've really appreciated all the feedback!


	11. Date Me a Little More

Mindy laid against Danny’s shoulder watching the TV as Danny clacked away on his computer. She kept trying to get comfortable but he kept moving as he looked things up on his computer. Finally she sat forward and turned to look at him.

“Okay, what are you doing?”

Danny looked back at her quickly before turning back to his computer. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Mindy asked accusingly. “Oh my God, are you watching porn? I’m sitting right here!” She leaned over to look at his computer screen but he moved it so she couldn’t see.

“I’m not watching porn!” He replied, outraged at her suggestion.

“Well then why won’t you tell me what you’re doing?”

“Because it’s a surprise,” Danny maintained. “You don’t have to know every little thing I do,” he replied with a grin.

“I’m your girlfriend. Pretty sure I’d like to know most of the little things you do,” Mindy reminded him. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

“You’re gonna make fun of me,” Danny stated glumly.

“I mean there’s always a chance that will happen, but I still want to know!”

Danny turned his computer to her. She saw a long listing of restaurants and another list of plays, movies, art shows and things along those lines. He looked at her sheepishly while she studied his screen.

She looked at him in awe. “What is this?”

“Well we have been on so many fake dates that I’ve been trying to come up with the perfect first date for us. We’ve done so many different things that it’s making it hard to think of a date we haven’t already been on.”

She giggled to herself. “ _That’s_ what you’ve been doing? You’re trying to figure out the perfect date?”

“Yeah,” he replied self-consciously. “I mean I had the perfect date planned. The whole thing with the Empire State Building. I was pretty confident that you would think it was perfect but then we didn’t even get to dinner. You just demanded we come back here.”

She laughed loudly. “Are you complaining?”

He leaned in and kissed her quickly. “Not even slightly.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Except that now, I am trying to plan another perfect date and it’s hard.”

Mindy smiled. The sentiment just seemed so un-Danny-like. She had a feeling that dating Danny was going to open her eyes to all the different facets of him. She’d already seen plenty of them. But just when she thought she knew everything about him, he got super sentimental about their relationship.

She reached over and grabbed his laptop off his lap. He reached for it but she shook her head. Putting it down behind her, she turned back to him. Reaching up and cupping his cheek she said, “Danny, don’t worry about it. Any date we go on will be perfect because I’m with you.” Danny smiled at her. She thought for a second. “That was super cheesy, wasn’t it?”

Danny laughed. “It was. But I appreciated it.”

“You realize that it’s silly to make a big deal about a first date when we’ve been saying we’re dating for a couple of weeks?” Mindy asked.

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, but we’ve been busy. And take out or me cooking at one of our apartments is not a date. We did that before.”

“You do realize that we were basically dating for months before we finally acknowledged that we had feelings for each other, right?” Mindy asked bluntly.

“Well sure, but that still doesn’t count,” Danny insisted.

“Aww,” Mindy replied, “I didn’t realize you were this much of a girl. It’s cute.”

Danny glowered at her. “And here I try to be romantic. You see, this is why I didn’t tell you.”

Mindy moved closer and snuggled into him. He looked the other way, pretending to ignore her. She leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry for calling you a girl.”

He looked back at her, still feigning hurt. “Yeah, whatever.” He was still receptive though, when she leaned in and kissed him.

~~

Mindy was finally done for the day. She was packing up her things, happy to get home. She strolled across reception to Danny’s office. The lights were out and his door was closed. She opened the door to see if he was just hiding so no one would try and talk to him. His office was empty. She was confused. They basically always left together unless they said otherwise beforehand.

She turned around and saw Jeremy and Peter talking by Jeremy’s office. “Hey! Have either of you seen Danny?”

“Oh yeah, he left,” Peter replied.

“He left?”

“Yeah, he said he had some things to do and he left early,” Jeremy explained.

“He didn’t tell me that he had anything to do.” Mindy wondered aloud.

“Oh no,” Peter responded in a baby voice, “Are Mindy and Danny on the rocks?”

“We’re not on the rocks, idiot. One miscommunication does not end a relationship. Though if that’s how you think it happens, that would explain a lot,” Mindy replied bitingly.

“Rude.”

“Whatever. I’m leaving. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Mindy replied, walking towards the elevator.

She stepped on the elevator wondering where Danny had gone. If something came up, even before they were actually dating, he’d still mention it. Or at least text her. She pulled out her phone hurriedly, making sure she hadn’t missed a message from him. Sure enough, no calls or texts.

She was beginning to be bothered by it. It wasn’t like him to talk to Jeremy and not her. Shaking her head, she told herself she wasn’t going to read too much into it. As she got off the elevator, she told herself she wasn’t going to text him until later. She didn’t want to seem desperate.

She wouldn’t have to wait till later, though. She walked out of the building and leaning against a car right in front was Danny. He smiled as he saw her. She traipsed down the stairs to meet him. “Hi,” she said with a light laugh.

He reached forward and brought her in for a kiss. Pulling back he said, “Hi.”

“I heard you left,” Mindy stated.

Danny looked down which made Mindy do the same. He’d changed clothes. “I wasn’t dressed appropriately, so I had to go home and change, you see.” He pulled his arm out from behind his back and revealed a big bouquet of flowers. “I also had to get these.”

Mindy gasped and reached out to take them from him. She stuck her nose into the bouquet and smelled. Looking up at him over the flowers she asked, “So you finally cracked the code, huh? You figured it out?”

Danny shrugged with a smirk. “I think you were right. I was over thinking it.” She nodded in agreement. “And it’s like you said, no matter how cheesy, it will be perfect because it’s us.” She leaned in and kissed him, still happy she could do so now.

Danny pulled back, looking at her lovingly. Stroking her cheek, he asked, “So Mindy Lahiri, do you want to go on a date with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, folks! Thanks for all the comments and kudos! They are always greatly appreciated! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this! Let me know what you think!
> 
> You can always find me here: http://allmylovesatonce.tumblr.com/


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